close...and not round...the coal oven gives off a distinctive taste as well that a picture can't duplicate..

Polish,

I really like that style but have never had it. Yours look very authentic.....you mention the flavor the coal oven imparts, I assume then your home oven doesn't give you that? And do you think your new WFO will...are you going to try using coal in it? Thanks!

Not to offend anybody else, but aesthetically I haven't seen anyone even come close to what you are producing on a New Haven clone. There is a coal fired New Haven style pizzeria here in Metro Detroit with an owner who trained in New Haven. They win tons of local awards and frequently show up on national lists, with a big claim to fame in Alan Richman from GQ calling there pepperoni pizza the best in the world. Their pies come NOWHERE near this aesthetically.

Thanks Shu. They taste very good but still need some work and then when the WFO arrives it will be another learning curve. I've had a bunch of people taste the pies and across the board I'm getting 8-9's with some 6.5 to 7.5 mixed in. I have brutally honest friends and I've asked them to not give me any leverage. We all grew up on NH pies either from Wooster street or in West Haven.

I've been working remotely with Scott123 and he has been instrumental to this pie, process and formula. Can't say enough good things about him. Patient, knowledgeable and willing to dig in when the answer is not in front of him.

We know that we can only go so far with a the home oven. Coal is not out of the question but that is down the road.

CB - oven definitely does not give that "taste", I assume WFO will be close but my bet is there is no substitute for coal.

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Polack trying to make pizza

scott123

PP, thanks for your kind words. It's been a tremendous pleasure for me to assist you and your business partner on your quest. This forum has seen some pretty motivated and fast learners, but I don't think any of them has ever matched the breakneck speed with which you've gone from being a beginner:

Thanks Scott! I'm busting me rear end but without a good teacher I would be nothing. My goal is the make the best NH style pizza short of making it in Pepe's oven as I can. I know coal at some point has to enter into the picture. Maybe I'll be the first coal mobile out there...some day maybe...

I keep on looking at your pizzas and I am mesmerized. Sure, I don't know how they taste, but they LOOK like the real deal. Even though I'veonly been to pepe's twice, THAT'S WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE!!!

Do you have any ideas as to why one side of you pizza is more charred than the other?Heating element on the bottom, I presume?

I would just attribute it to inconsistent heating in the oven I guess??

When/if you get the WFO I would be happy to ship you my two bags of coal if you want. I got them 1 1/2 years ago and its just a beatch to work with. Needs a really good supply of air to keep it going. I think you would have to have a built in fan mod in your WFO to utilize it. And for someone like me who lives outside of the coal belt, the idea is just a non-starter.

Same offer is open to anyone else who wants free coal. You pay to ship and its yours. My wife will be happy!First one who asks gets it!

But back to the original topic --- You got that NH thing going ON, man!!!

I have been using a combination of 550 preheat, broiler and 1/2 steel plate hearth. Yesterday we were really trying to get the char and using the broiler and plate pretty close together to get this effect.

Those look really good. I love the way pepe's pies come out kind of free form amoeba - shaped, sauced almost up to the edges... I have had some similar looking results on .5 inch steel w/ broiler..I like using the "party cut" on these pies....

polishpizza, have you ever tried using some smoked cheese to get a slightly smokey taste? You don't need a lot, perhaps a couple of ounces of smoked mozz or provolone mixed in with the rest of your cheese. Much better if the cheese is "real" hardwood smoked cheese, not the crap you buy most of the time that is sprayed with a liquid smoke solution.

Polish - Don't know you're process, but tell me if I'm close. I'm seeing a bread flour along the lines of Harvest King unless you've gotten your hands on some high-gluten flour from GM or KA. I guess high hydration (65% or above) from the airy rim, and also from the fact that those irregularly-shaped pies at Pepe's and Sally's must come from a loose, moist dough. I see a full-fat aged mozzarella. Calabro, perhaps? It's been said here, I believe, that that's Pepe's go-to brand. As far as tomatoes go, it's hard to tell much by looking, but that deep red looks delicious. I'm guessing an uncooked to minimally-cooked sauce with minimal seasoning. Salt and garlic...? The rich color of the cheese says a little parm and/or pecorino...? The color and char you've achieved in your home oven, along with the name Scott, scream baked on a steel plate. I'll assume a drizzle of evoo pre-bake. That's all I got. How'd I do?